Specialities of Yorkshire's Kitchen

The food specialities of the Yorkshire’s Kitchen are first of all: RICH! Thinking of the Yorkshire Pudding in particular as a starting point of culinary explorations in North Yorkshire, the largest county in Northeast England.
But there is more about grandma’s cookbook on the Yorkshire kitchen shelf and it’s distinctive basic ingredients for typical recipes. But of course, we start with the recipe of the famous:1) Yorkshire Pudding

To make the batter, tip 140g plain flour into a bowl and beat in four eggs until smooth. Gradually add 200ml milk and carry on beating until the mix is completely lump-free. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the batter into a jug, then remove the hot tins from the oven. Carefully and evenly pour the batter into the holes. Place the tins back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 20-25 mins until the puddings have puffed up and browned. Serve immediately. You can now cool them and freeze for up to 1 month.

2) Wensleydale Cheese

(Foto: Richard North)

Wensleydale cheese has been made in Wensleydale since 1150, when the Cistercian monks first settled in the dale, and established a monastery at Fors, just four miles from Hawes. Often the cheese came out as a blue cheese – as it matured so cracks in the coat would allow naturally occurring blue mould spores into the cheese to create the blue veining.3) RhubarbA nine-square-mile area of Yorkshire county is known as Rhubarb Triangle. The rhubarb plant’s stems are boiled in sugar and used for everything from jams to pies to compotes. A food, drink and rhubarb festival occurs every year in Wakefield.4) Ginger Beer

Ginger Beer (Photo: Matt Hintsa/Flickr)

Ginger beer is similar to ginger ale but infused with a more spicy ginger taste. It was first made in the mid 1700s as an alcoholic drink, Currently most ginger beer beverages are non-alcoholic though.5) Liquorice

Liquorice (Photo: Hddod/Flickr)

Originally used for medicinal purposes, liquorice (or licorice) is nowadays a delicacy for sweet teeth. The annual Pontefract Liquorice Festival is held to celebrate Pontefract, the person responsible for sweetening liquorice.6) Pikelets

Pikelets (VanessaC/Flickr)

These fluffy breads have a similar taste and texture as crumpets, but with many regional variations.

Incredience:

1 cup self-rising flour

1 tablespoon castor sugar or superfine sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 cup milk, or as needed

Sift the flour into a medium bowl, and stir in the sugar. Make a well in the center, and add the egg. Stir with a wooden spoon while gradually pouring in the milk until you reach the consistency that you prefer. Thicker picklets will need a thick batter, while thin picklets will need a thin batter. Stir in melted butter last, beating until smooth.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Drop by large spoonfuls onto the hot skillet. Picklets should be about 2 inches across. Flip when bubbles appear on the surface, and cook until browned on the other side.

7) Parkin

Parkin (Photo: Philippa Willitts/Flickr)

Another Yorkshire speciality uses ginger. Parkin, a cake of butter, honey, flour, oats, treacle and ginger. This cake is traditionally served around Guy Fawkes Night.

Ingredients:

200g butter, plus extra for greasing

1 large egg

4 tbsp milk

200g golden syrup

85g treacle

85g light soft brown sugar

100g medium oatmeal

250g self-raising flour

1 tbsp ground ginger

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a deep 22cm/9in square cake tin and line with baking parchment. Beat the egg and milk together with a fork.

Gently melt the syrup, treacle, sugar and butter together in a large pan until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat. Mix together the oatmeal, flour and ginger and stir into the syrup mixture, followed by the egg and milk.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 mins – 1 hr until the cake feels firm and a little crusty on top. Cool in the tin then wrap in more parchment and foil and keep for 3-5 days before eating if you can – it’ll become softer and stickier the longer you leave it, up to 2 weeks.

8) Yorkshire Curd Tart

curd tard (Photo/Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com)

The original curd tart recipe which has been around since at least the 1750s, was unique because of its use of rosewater.

Ingredients

For the pastry

140g plain flour

pinch baking powder

85g salted butter

1 tsp caster sugar

For the filling

1.2l full-fat Jersey milk

juice 1 lemon

50g unsalted butter

50g caster sugar

1 large hen or duck

egg, beaten

25g currants

Make the curd the night before. Heat the milk in a large pan. As it comes to a gentle simmer, add the lemon juice. Turn the heat to low and gently stir while the curds form. Do not stir too quickly or you will break up the curds. Once the mixture resembles watery liquid with creamy lumps in it, remove the pan from the heat and allow the curds to cool in the whey. Drain the curds overnight through a clean tea towel and save the whey for making scones, as you would buttermilk.

To make the pastry, blend the flour, baking powder, butter, sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor until the butter is almost all combined – leave a few small lumps of butter to lighten the dough. Tip the dry mix onto a work surface and make a well in the centre. Add a little cold water to make a smooth, but not sticky dough. As soon as the mixture comes together, knead very lightly, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 20 mins. Can be made up to 2 days ahead and chilled.

To finish the filling, beat the butter and sugar until soft, then add the egg, a little bit at a time. Add the curds to the mixture and lightly whisk to break up any large lumps. Once blended, add the currants.

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll out the pastry to line a greased 20cm shallow pie dish or tart tin. Spread over the curd mix and bake for 35-40 mins until browned and the pastry is cooked. Leave to cool, then cut into slices and serve on its own or with a drizzle of cream.

Not to forget the Yorkshire Beers of course!
Good that there are plenty options to exercise in the National Parks of Yorkshire’s National Parks after these rich delicacies.

Please add your additional recipes in the comment to complete the list of Yorkshire Specialities.
(Source Recipes: BBC Good Food and Allrecipes, Featured Image: Lonnon Foster/Flickr)
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